Frequency of Musculoskeletal Symptoms Among the Club Cricketers of Rawalpindi/Islamabad

Abstract

Background of the study: The concept of playing and watching cricket in Pakistan is very common among youth; being considered a leisurely gentleman's game. However, the possible injuries that occur involving the musculoskeletal (MSK) system can be due to several causes such as improper training schedule, sudden involuntary movements, or the lack of proper warm-up/cool-down session. To contribute for betterment, our study aimed to determine the frequency of musculoskeletal symptoms among club cricketers.

Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study with a sample size of 344 male participants. The data collection tools which were used involves a self-structured Questionnaire for demographics and a modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire for musculoskeletal symptoms. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 21.

Results: The frequency of MSK symptoms reported in the previous 12 months was highest for lower back pain (n=98, 28.5%) followed by shoulder pain (n=98, 28.5%)

while during the last 7 days upper back n=20 (54.1%) was reported as the highest one followed by knees n=28 (49.1%). During past 12 months, cricketers were unable to perform daily tasks due to discomfort, seen in knees n=35 (61.4%) followed by upper back n=19 (51.4%) and shoulder n=44 (44.9%). The maximum number of players who had hurt their body regions in accidents were highest with wrist n=22 (36.1%), ankle/foot n=23 (33.3%) and knees n=15 (26.3%).

Conclusion: Musculoskeletal symptoms in club cricketers were most commonly found in the shoulder and lower back region, however,  they were least common in upper back.